Review: Shadow Warrior by Michelle Diener

Title: Shadow Warrior
Author: Michelle Diener
Series: Sky Raiders #3
Publication: January 22nd 2018 by Eclipse
Genre: Science Fiction
Purchase Links: Amazon 
Rating: 4/5★

Taya and Garek have survived the worst of what the sky raiders and their own fellow Illians have thrown at them. But now, they’ll have to deal with both their enemies working together.

As three of the Illian states close in on what they see as the weakness of West Lathor, Garek and Taya have to shore up their defences, call in favors, and forge friendships with whoever they can to protect their friends and family. When the signs that there is an alliance between an Illian liege and the sky raiders becomes harder to ignore, they have to face the fact that they may be defeated.

The arrival of a new group of sky raiders, looking for information and help, opens up a new possibility. Garek sees no choice but to make a deal with the devil, but the gamble is, will the enemy of their enemy help them, or betray them?

Oh my gosh, this was such an amazing ending to an equally amazing trilogy! I can't believe how totally absorbed I was with Shadow Warrior. I even stayed up late because I just needed to finish this book. And that's not something that happens to me a lot anymore. The action is what made this a huge page-turner but the varied characters and their final battle against the sky raiders is what really made this book special. I was more than hooked!

Shadow Warrior was easily my favorite book out of all three, which is another thing that doesn't happen a lot to me because usually I'm not the biggest one of last books in a trilogy or series so it's a pretty huge deal that this one was my favorite. The cover is also a big contender for my favorite book cover of 2018. I just love it so much.

The first book was a little bit of a rocky start but the characters in the books, especially Taya, have grown on me so much. I also thought Garek was beyond amazing in the story but Taya definitely stole the spotlight. The character developement of her was so incredible, you could just see her growing through the three books. She was absolutely badass and fearless in this book. I adore her!

As the last book of the Sky Raiders trilogy, Shadow Warrior was an excellent conclusion. If you're looking for an action-packed sci-fi adventure with a strong heroine an swoonworthy hero in the lead, this is the trilogy to start!

Author bio:
Michelle Diener writes historical fiction, fantasy and science fiction. Having worked in publishing and IT, she’s now very happy crafting new worlds and interesting characters and wondering which part of the world she can travel to next.
Michelle was born in London, grew up in South Africa and currently lives in Australia with her husband and two children.

When she’s not writing, or driving her kids from activity to activity, you can find her blogging at Magical Musings, or online at Twitter, at Google+and Facebook.

Check out my reviews of Michelle's other books:

{Science Fiction)

Sky Raiders (Sky Raiders #1) — 3/5★ 

Calling the Chance (Sky Raiders #2) — 4/5★ 

COMING SOON: Shadow Warrior (Sky Raiders #3) 

{Science Fiction}

Dark Horse (Class 5 #1) — 5/5★ 

Dark Deeds (Class 5 #2) — 5/5★ 

Dark Minds (Class 5 #3) — 4/5★ 

{Science Fiction}

Interference & Insurgency (Verdant String) — 4.5/5★ 

{Paranormal}

Breaking Out Part I (part of Entranced Halloween Box Set — 4/5★ 

Breaking Out Part II — 4/5★ 

{Fantasy}

The Golden Apple (The Dark Forest #1) — 4/5★ 

The Silver Pear (The Dark Forest #2) — 5/5★ 

{Fantasy}

Mistress of the Wind — 3/5★

{Historical Fiction}

The Emperor's Conspiracy (Regency London #1) —5/5★

Banquet of Lies (Regency London #2) —5/5★ 

A Dangerous Madness (Regency London #3) —5/5★ 

 {Historical Fiction}

Daughter of the Sky —5/5★

 {Historical Fiction}

In a Treacherous Court (Susanna Horenbout and John Parker #1) —5/5★

Dangerous Sanctuary (Susanna Horenbout and John Parker #1.5) —5/5★

Keeper of the King's Secrets (Susanna Horenbout and John Parker #2) —5/5★

In Defense of the Queen (Susanna Horenbout and John Parker) —5/5★

Review: Calling The Change by Michelle Diener

Title: Calling the Change
Author: Michelle Diener
Series: Sky Raiders #2
Publication: July 17th 2017 by Eclipse
Genre: Science Fiction
Purchase: Amazon 
Rating: 4/5

He rescued her despite impossible odds—Garek has rescued Taya and the rest of his village from the sky raiders, but their return home doesn't bring easier times. The sky raiders aren't simply going to go away—they still need the shadow ore they came for, and they want the ships Garek stole from them back. But they aren't the only threat . . .
First she was in danger from the aliens who abducted her, now she's in danger from her own people—Taya's been rescued, but she isn't home a week before she's taken again, this time by men who walked the walls with Garek. They've taken her as a consolation prize of sorts, having failed to get hold of Garek himself. They think Taya's value to the people they're working for is her relationship to Garek, but they are wrong . . .

Garek and Taya never gave up on each other before, even when the distance between them was impossibly far, and they aren't giving up on each other now. As Garek searches for her, and Taya engineers her escape, they discover the motivations behind the new attacks on them are darker than the endless reaches of space they've just escaped from.

I'm not sure exactly why but I enjoyed Calling the Change a lot more than the previous book, Sky Raiders. Don't get me wrong, the first book wasn't bad or anything, I just didn't love it as much as I would've wanted. Now back to Calling the Change... I was really into it right from the start and I had a hard time putting the book down. It was a great read!

The story was really action-packed (just as I like it.) so there was actually never a boring moment. The story pretty much revolves around Garek having yet again to try and find Taya who's been abducted by men who walked the walls with Garek as the synopsis says. So obviously they don't have just the sky raiders to fear this time even though they're still a dangerous foe they face.

I really enjoyed reading about Taya and Garek again. They were seperated for a part of this book but it's so worth it in the end, I thought. I especially liked Taya this time because she is not some damsel in distress that needs rescuing even though Garek does go after her. Taya definitely can take care of her own, that's for sure. 

As always with a book by Michelle Diener, I thought it was written in a really great way. The romance isn't a major part of the book, although there are a couple of very swoonworthy moments between Taya and Garek, which I loved.

The ending left me super excited for the third and final book. I have so many questions. Will they find Aidan? Will Taya learn to control her change better? It sounds like the next book will be just as thrilling as this one. I can't wait!

Read my review of Sky Raiders #1 here

Michelle Diener writes historical fiction, fantasy and science fiction. Having worked in publishing and IT, she’s now very happy crafting new worlds and interesting characters and wondering which part of the world she can travel to next.
Michelle was born in London, grew up in South Africa and currently lives in Australia with her husband and two children.

When she’s not writing, or driving her kids from activity to activity, you can find her blogging at Magical Musings, or online at Twitter, at Google+ and Facebook.

Review: Sky Raiders by Michelle Diener

Title: Sky Raiders
Author: Michelle Diener
Series: Sky Raiders #1
Publication: December 15th 2016 by Eclipse
Genre: Science Fiction
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Rating: 3/5

First they flew their mysterious sky craft through the skies of Barit. Then they started attacking. Finally, they began to raid.

Garek's one year of duty as a guard walking the walls of Garamundo was extended to two when the sky raiders appeared. Two long years away from home and his lover, Taya. When he finally returns, the town is empty. While Garek was protecting Garamundo, the sky raiders were taking their victims from his hometown.

Taya can't bear looking into the night sky. All she can see is Barit, her home planet. Impossibly, the sky raiders have brought her and their other victims to Shadow, the planet that shadows her own, and looking up makes her aware of everything she's lost. Garek is out there somewhere. She knows he'll look, but he'll never find her.

She and the other captives have to find a way to escape. Without the food and clothes the sky raiders bring them from their raids on Barit, they'll starve on the almost barren wastes of Shadow. And when they've given the sky raiders enough of what they want, that's exactly what the sky raiders will leave them to do.

She does have an idea of how she can break free--the sky raiders have brought them to Shadow to mine for ore. A very special ore which Taya has worked out is as dangerous to the sky raiders as it is valuable.

What she doesn't realize is she'll have some help with her plan. Because Garek isn't giving up. And he's even more resourceful than she could ever have imagined.

Nothing is going to keep him from Taya. Not even space itself.

At first I had a pretty hard to getting into Sky Raiders. I may also had a mini reading slump so that didn't really help things. After the first 50% I started getting more into the book and I was getting more invested in all the characters. I wish I had liked the story a little more since I absolutely loved Michelle Diener's other sci-fi trilogy, Class 5 but I'm still looking forward to the next two books to see where everything will be going.

Garek has been away for two years due to guard duty that had been extended to two years instead of one. When he finally gets back, he arrives at his home town only to find it empty because the sky raiders have taking everyone, including the woman he loves, Taya. Meanwhile Taya and the other people the sky raiders have taking have been brought to Shadow where they are forced to work in the mine. Garek is working on a plan to save Taya while Taya is working on a plan to get off Shadow and back to her home planet.

The story is written in dual point of view by Garek and Taya. I always felt myself drawn more to Garek's POV. Not that I didn't like Taya also but I loved him as one of the lead characters, especially when he was trying to get to Taya. Another favorite character of mine was Aidan Hansard who kind of had to go along with Garek to find Taya. I really liked how their friendship developed out of a sort of necessity.

I found myself almost not being able to wait until Garek and Taya finally would be reunited and once they did it was worth all the trouble they both had to go through. I loved them as a couple and how they both wouldn't stop until they would find each other. To me this book also had a certain fantasy element because some of the characters could call upon the change and basically control an element, which I thought was very cool.

Sky Raiders by Michelle Diener had a slow start for me. Like I said, I had a hard time getting into it.  There was loads of action in the story which was something I loved but I still missed a certain "oomph", to be honest. But I still thought it was a great sci-fi adventure and a good start of this new trilogy.

         About the Author:

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Michelle Diener writes historical fiction, fantasy and science fiction. Having worked in publishing and IT, she’s now very happy crafting new worlds and interesting characters and wondering which part of the world she can travel to next. Michelle was born in London, grew up in South Africa and currently lives in Australia with her husband and two children.

When she’s not writing, or driving her kids from activity to activity, you can find her blogging at Magical Musings, or online at Twitter, at Google+ and Facebook.